"A Hart paramedic was escorting an elderly gentleman from the house and he was in his full Hart protective uniform when the explosion went off.

"Our Hart paramedic shielded him from the full force of the blast."

He added the elderly resident had minor injuries while the paramedic suffered blast injuries when he was knocked to the ground.

Two policemen suffered burns to their arms and heads while the third suffered more severe burns.

"It's never nice when one of our own is injured and we are obviously thinking about him," the ambulance spokesman said.

"Quite clearly, his quick actions in evacuating people from the property, and the fact he was wearing protective equipment which allowed him to shield this man from the full force of the blast, have helped lessen the injuries that could have occurred."

Neighbouring flats were evacuated, the force said.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: NorthumbriaPolFed - Thank you for messages for our 3 colleagues injured in gateshead tonight, they are appreciated.&lt;/noframe&gt;

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said crews had attended and were still at the scene tonight.

A witness told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle: "I saw a police officer floundering on the street, I think he'd been blown out of the house by the force of the explosion. The house was flattened."

Kevin Briggs, 68, added: “I was sitting in my house and I heard this big bang.

"I looked out and came outside straight away. The house had come down, it had collapsed.”

Superintendent Dave Byrne, from Northumbria Police, said: "The house has been completely destroyed.

"It has been a sizeable force that has caused the damage."

He said the officers were trained to deal with hazardous situations and members of the public should call the emergency services in similar circumstances.

A neighbour, who was walking his dog, said: "You cannot believe people have survived that.

"The roof's gone and there's debris everywhere."

There was no fault with the local supply leading up to the explosion, Northern Gas Networks said.

The firm, which operates the gas emergency service for the north east of England, northern Cumbria and most of Yorkshire, said: "Our engineers isolated the gas supply to the properties affected by the gas explosion in Gateshead earlier this evening and have made the area safe.

"We can confirm that the explosion was not the result of any issue with the local gas network.

"We will continue to work with the police as they carry out an investigation."

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "The Health and Safety Executive have now been informed and will take the lead in this investigation.